Out of the Ashes
by LileyKigoSpashleyRizzslesLover
Summary: Continuation of season two's finale: "Burning Down the House". Jane/Maura.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This will probably be a twoshot but there is a chance it could evolve into a multi-chaptered story. I hope this helps remedy the last episode's effects a little bit.

XXXXX

Maura left the corner of Hanover Street and Charter Street in Boston's North End to drive to the Whistler factory, whose plans she had just procured. When she entered the building that was not too far away she could tell how violent the recent fire was. Everything was charred, though some items in the room were identifiable such as a few sewing machines scattered about the room as well as a few still standing dress forms.

Walking further in, ashes crunched under her designer boots. She walked up a couple steps before continuing through the maze of workplace remains. She stepped up to a table and placed the plans down before someone came up behind her.

"You looking for where Craig died?" The tall fireman asked.

Around the corner, Jane and Frost – guns drawn – moved into position.

"Yes." Maura answered, turning to face him.

"It's Kevin Flynn." Jane whispered to her partner.

Kevin walked up to the M.E. and pointed at where she was previously standing. "We found him right about here."

Maura side-stepped away."

"You know my grandfather died fighting the '72 Vendome fire." He said as, outside, Korsak and Frankie listen in while seated in the car.

"I'm sorry." Maura stated.

"City kept cutting back and cutting back. Hard to fight all these fires without enough firefighters, huh?"

The doctor just stared at him as, behind her, Agent Dean got into position too.

Jane noticed this and looked surprised. "Did you follow us?" She mouthed.

He shook his head and then put his attention on what was happening around the corner.

"You shouldn't have come here by yourself." Kevin said to Maura.

"Why not?" She asked.

"You know why not. I had to make sure people understand that they can't just keep laying us off."

"How did you do that, Kevin?"

"You know how. I burned a few buildings." He said with a smug smile. "And then Craig started digging around. Just like you." He started shaking his head as his voice died to a near whisper. "You both should have just left it alone." He reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun, aiming it immediately at the M.E.

"Kevin don't! No!" She yelled as she crouched down, throwing her arms up to cover her head.

A shot rang out from above them. A split second later Kevin was on the ground.

Maura looked up and saw her biological father lower his weapon.

Dean came out, gun at the ready. "Drop your weapon, Doyle!"

"Gabriel, No!" Jane yelled.

It was too late. His shot hit the mob boss in the right shoulder, causing Maura to scream. Patrick returned fire and caused Dean to fall. Jane and Frost came out and saw the scene.

"What the hell?" Outside, Korsak and Frankie could only hear what was going on.

Inside, Jane raised her gun to her best friend's father whose gun was still pointed in her direction. She fired, hitting him in the lower left abdomen as Maura's screams of 'no!' went ignored.

Patrick Doyle fell backward, breaking through the frail wooden beams on the scaffolding before falling to the ground as his daughter looked on in horror.

"Maura!" Jane yelled when she saw the woman go over to the man who was bleeding out.

She paid that no mind as she kneeled down over him.

"Hope." He said.

"Hope? What do you hope?" Her breathing was labored and shaky.

"Hope." He groaned out again.

"Maura!" Jane yelled out, rushing to the other woman. She holstered her weapon and shrugged off her jacket.

"Hope? What do you hope?" She repeated, hoping to get an answer.

"Oh god, Maura." The detective knelt down on the other side of her gunshot victim and started to use her jacket to stop the bleeding.

Before she could even touch the man, however, the doctor freaked out. "Don't touch him." She pushed the article of clothing away. When Jane tried again, she held it back. "No, I mean it!"

Jane looked horrified at the state her best friend was in.

Hate filled Maura's eyes when she glared at the woman. "Don't you dare touch him!"

The yellow clad woman reeled back at the venomous tone. Looking more emotionally hurt than she's ever been in her life, she stood. "Maura… I was only trying – "

"No! I don't want to speak to you again. In fact, if you don't quit your job as soon as we're done here then I will!"

Jane's lip quivered as her mind raced to try to think of something, _anything_, to say that would change her mind. "You don't mean that, Maura." She whispered gently.

"Oh I do. Now go!" She spat out.

The taller woman backed up, running into Frost. She looked at him and he shrugged.

"She'll be okay in a little while. C'mon, you guys have fought before, right?"

"Yeah but this… this is _big_."

A crack overhead causes those who are still conscious to look up.

Jane realized what it was first. Without thought to Maura's warnings or her own personal safety, she sprinted at the woman but wasn't even close to being fast enough. The whole roof caved in and collapsed atop of Maura and Patrick.

"Maura!" Jane's blood curdling scream echoed throughout the charred building and out into the streets. She raced towards the pile of rubble but was held back.

"Jane, stop. We have to get out of here." Frost pointed upward where more cracking could be heard. "The whole place is gonna collapse."

She wrenched away from his grip as tears ran down her face. "No…. I'm not leaving without her!" She ran over and started moving pieces of the wreckage until she saw the scratched up face of her best friend. Droplets of tears fell, hitting the doctor's face, as Jane tried to wake her. "Maura… Maura, please don't do this to me." Her voice was cracking under the pressure of such a heavy heart. She wiped her face for the thousandth time and cleared the debris off the rest of her body.

By now Korsak and Frankie had finally joined them.

"What the hell happened in here?" The sergeant asked.

Frost just shook his head. "Roof caved in on Maura and Doyle. We need to get out of here soon, though, or we're gonna be in the same shape Maura is."

Korsak took that as his cue to do something. He walked up to the mess. "Rizzoli. C'mon, let's go. Paramedics are on their way. It's not safe in here." He put his hand on her shoulder.

She pushed it away. "I'm not leaving her, Korsak." She looked down at the body of the woman, now free from rubble. Bits of Patrick's body peeked out but she paid him no mind.

He hesitated but turned around. "Alright, everyone else out!" He waved at Frost and Frankie who were busy picking up the two wounded men.

"What about – "

Korsak cut Frankie off. "She won't listen. Not until Maura's safe."

"Is she…" The newest detective paused, not able to say it.

Knowing where he was going with this, the gray haired man sighed. "I don't know. Just get out of here before we have more casualties." He watched them get a safe distance outside before heading back and helping Jane. In a few minutes they had both bodies uncovered. Just in time for paramedics to come rushing in.

"Thanks detectives, we'll take it from here." One of them said as they pushed them away so they could get to the injured.

As the female detective could barely stand at the moment, he wrapped her arm around his shoulders and let her outside. Moments later, the remaining individuals came out of the slowly collapsing structure.

Jane could barely watch through her tears and heart-wrenching sobs, as the paramedics took her best friend away.

XXXXX

Maura awoke up in a bright room. The bed was uncomfortable and the machines around her let out a constant beep. She tried to remember what happened but each time she ventured into her mind all she came up with was that it felt like something was missing.

Just then, someone walked through the door.

"Hey, Maura." The tall Italian woman greeted. "How's your head feeling?"

She looked up at the woman, confused. When she reached up to touch her head she noticed it was bandaged. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" She asked. When the other woman shook her head, she answered. "You fell off Walter and banged your head against a rock. We're lucky we went horseback-riding with a doctor."

Maura's face scrunched up in confusion. "Horse? Where am I?"

Jane's face fell as she tilted her head. "You don't know? You're in the hospital, sweetie."

Something came back to her. She remembered falling from a horse but she couldn't tell if that memory was recent or from when she was little. "Right…" She at the woman before her. Though she did seem familiar, something was a bit off.

Her face scrunched up with more worry. "What's that look for? Don't tell me you have amnesia. Do you know who I am?"

"Of course I do, Jane."

That caused a look of relief to wash across said woman's face, though it didn't last too long.

"Though I don't know how."

"Wh – what do you mean?" Her voice was filled with worry.

"I don't know… I – I know that I know you but I can't recall any memories with you before right now."

Jane let out a shaky sigh before standing. "I'll go get the doctor."

"No, wait!" Maura held out her hand. "Stay here?" She was feeling scared and understandably so, since even though the place she was in should be familiar it wasn't and she had no idea what was going on.

Nodding, the taller woman reached over and pressed a button. A minute later, the doctor walked in.

"How are you feeling?" He smiled at his patient.

"She has some sort of weird amnesia." Jane said, answering for her.

"More than likely that will go away on its own. Amnesia is very common after head trauma."

"But it's not just regular amnesia, doc. It's like… she knows who I am but doesn't know why she does."

"Source amnesia? Hmm… that is odd." He mulled it over for a moment. "But I'm sure, just like with regular amnesia, it will go away in time. Just keep trying to trigger her memory."

Jane nodded. "Alright. Will do."

He turned to Maura. "So it looks like your skull wasn't fractured and your brain was unaffected. Aside from the amnesia, you're perfectly fine."

That didn't seem to help her current disposition. "So… can I go?"

He looked at Jane before turning his look back to the bedridden female. "As long as Mrs. Rizzoli-Isles promises to watch over you."

"Wait… what did you just say?" Maura nearly yelled, alarmed at his words.

"That you can leave if your wife takes care of you?"

"My… my wife?"

That caused Jane to collapse into a nearby chair. "You… don't even know…" She sighed. "You don't know we're married? Do you even remember you love me?"

All she could do in response was scrunch her eyebrows.

The doctor just looked between them before clearing his throat. "Okay… I've got patients to tend to so, uh… I'll discharge you and send a nurse to come help you out." He left.

"Jane…"

Said woman couldn't look up. The last time she really gazed into those eyes she found love and affection. She didn't want to know what she'd find now.

"Jane, please."

Her head moved up but her eyes stayed transfixed on her forehead. "Maybe I should just take you to my mother's house."

Maura shook her head. "No, please don't. I'm sorry if I upset you."

"It's fine." She said sarcastically. "You just don't remember our wedding, our honeymoon, the last five years of our marriage…"

"Five years?" She asked incredulously.

"Please stop doing that."

"Sorry." Maura said self-consciously. "Just – please tell me everything."

Jane gulped. "Everything?" How was she going to condense their life together enough to explain it all right now?

She nodded. "Except for you, my mind is blank. You're the only person I can trust right now. I feel safe around you. I can't explain it, I just do."

A slight smile tugged at the edges of the Italian woman's mouth. "Don't worry. I won't leave you alone for one second if that's what you want."

"Thank you, Jane."

"So, uh… where should I start?"

Maura shrugged. "The beginning?"

She sighed and tried to think back. "Well… we met in college. At first you – "

"Wait… sorry. College where?"

"BCU. Boston College University."

"Oh…" Her lips pursed as she tried to scour her mind for proof of why that sounded familiar.

"Okay, so first we really didn't notice each other. You had your group of friends and I had mine. But then we took a criminology class together and really clicked. The last day of class I asked you out and you accepted." Just as she was going to continue their story, a nurse walked in, pushing a wheelchair.

"Hello you two." She said. "The doctor informed me that you've been discharged so I'll help you to your car." She wheeled the chair to the side of the bed and helped her get into it. From there they all walked out of the room and out of the hospital. After Jane ran ahead and brought the car up, Maura was helped into the car and driven home.

After a few minutes of silence, Maura was yearning to know more of what she forgot. "Can you please continue the story?"

"Oh, yeah, sure. Uh… Where were we?"

"You asked me out." She offered, blushing.

"Yeah. Um… we went on our first date at some seafood place." She kicked herself mentally for not remembering the date or actual name of the restaurant. "I thought I completely blew it but you called me the next day asking for a second date." She smiled at the memory. "From then on we were pretty much inseparable. I swear, it only took a few weeks before my mother started to think of you as a second daughter."

Maura frowned. What the other woman was saying seemed really nice and she was a bit upset that she couldn't remember it.

Jane continued expelling all she could remember until they pulled up to a large structure.

"Whoa… we live here?" Maura asked, interrupting the other woman.

"Yeah… but we also work here. I guess I forgot to mention that we run a resort."

"Cool!" The shorter woman exclaimed.

As she got out of the car, Jane smiled. She went around to the other side to help her wife out.

They walked in and were immediately barraged by questions from their family and friends.

"Okay, okay, everyone – not so fast. She's fine." Jane said. "But… she probably doesn't remember you."

"No." Maura answered, looking at each of their faces. "I know all these people."

The taller woman's face lit up at that. "You do! That's great!"

"But… I don't know how."

Commence face falling yet again. "More source amnesia. Great…" She motioned for the others to go away as she spoke again. "I'll talk to all of you later just… get back to work."

"Janey, can't you just tell us what happened now?"

"Later, Ma. I'm going to try to trigger her memory." She said, causing the other woman to pout. As she was already at the stairs, however, she didn't even see.

"What are we doing?" Maura questioned, seeing that she was being led into a bedroom. "I figure we've already had sex but I don't really feel comfortable –"

"No… I just want to show you something." Jane sat the other woman down on the bed and headed out the door. A few moments later she returned. "I thought this might help." Jane said, holding a VHS in her hand.

"What is it?"

"Our wedding video." She answered before popping it into the dusty VCR. She really hoped this works. Though, if Maura couldn't remember loving her then Jane swore to herself that she would do anything it took to make her fall in love with her again.

As they watched it, memories began forming in her mind. Everything Jane had described up to this point became etched in her mind as well as specific details surrounding them. Before it even finished she paused it, remembering the rest. She turned to the other woman and saw her way differently than she had just moments before.

"Maura?"

"You were right." She grinned. "That did help."

Jane let out a heaving sigh of relief. "Thank god."

Maura smiled. "So… how are things here? Do I need to do anything?"

"The resort's fine. You just need to rest." She leaned over slowly, letting the other woman escape if she felt she needed to, before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Should I call for room service?"

"No." She answered, shaking her head. "I'm not hungry."

"Alright. Then can I leave you here while I talk to the others?" She smiled when she received a nod of the head. She gave another gentle kiss – this time upon the lips – before she got up and left.

The remaining woman in the room picked up the remote and resumed the video. Even though something still felt wrong, she put it off to her recent accident. When the video ended she got up and explored her abode. She found a few more videos tucked away on a bookcase in the main living area, each label representing a different part of their life, and she made a mental note to watch them later.

When she started to enter the kitchen she jumped, hearing a loud ringing. It didn't take too long for her to find the source of it when she saw a phone light up in the corner. Seeing her last name on the caller ID, she answered it. "Hello?"

"Maura? Is that you?"

"Yes, mother."

"Oh I'm so glad to hear your voice. I was worried. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine.

"Good. Your father and I were worried. I'm sorry we're not there. The soonest flight I could get is tomorrow."

"No need. I'm fine, really. You can come for a visit if you want but all I had was a little bump to the head."

"You were asleep for several hours, though. We'll be there tomorrow. I have to go now, though. Say hello to Jane for me."

"I will. Bye."

"Goodbye."

Maura hung up the phone and smiled. Something about hearing her mother's voice and knowing she was okay calmed her.

"Who was that?"

The Irish woman jumped and turned around, finding Jane standing there. "My mother. She's coming tomorrow."

"Oh, really? That's nice."

"Uh-huh. And she said to tell you hello."

Jane smiled. "So I told everyone you're okay. You _are _okay, right?"

Maura beamed. "Of course. Even more so now that you're here." She sidled up to the other woman and wrapped her arms around her.

"I am _so _happy you're okay." The taller woman said, looking down into gorgeous hazel eyes. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you never have to find out." She assured before leaning forward to kiss the other woman firmly.

When they pulled away, Jane could only say one thing. "I love you."

"I love you too." Maura replied. After a moment, she stepped out of the embrace. "Is it okay if I just walk around for a little bit?"

"Of course. I would go with you but I have a few things to take care of."

"That's fine."

Jane kissed her once again before walking her downstairs. They parted ways at the front desk with a loving gaze.

"Hello, Maura!"

Said woman looked over to see who was calling her name. She smiled when she saw her mother-in-law. "Hi, Angela. How are things going with my favorite activities director?"

"Great! I'm so glad you're feeling better. I know I tell you this all the time but we are all very lucky you married my daughter. You're the best thing that's happened to her."

She shook her head. "No. She's the best thing that's happened to me."

Angela smiled. "Well, let's just agree that you two meeting was a wonderful thing." She noticed a few people approaching and frowned when she knew she had to cut the conversation short. "I would love to talk to you all day, dear, but –" She motioned at the people behind her.

Turning around, she noticed. "Alright. I'll see you later then." She waved goodbye before continuing on.

She couldn't take two steps before noticing someone else familiar. Though, this time, she didn't strike up a conversation as he seemed busy. She watched as Barry Frost helped a couple with their bags. Her gaze went over to the door they had walked through and saw it being held open by the doorman – Vincent Korsak.

She was going to go say hello to the gray haired man but her stomach had other plans. It grumbled quite loudly so she decided to head on over to the kitchen which she found with ease.

"Hey, Maura!"

"Tommy!"

The man walked up to her and wrapped her in a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay. We were all worried." He said when he pulled away.

"So I've heard."

"So, uh, what brings you down here?" He asked, a little worried. Normally when either she or Jane comes into the kitchen it's to talk about a complaint by a guest. Thankfully that doesn't happen often.

"I'm starving."

He smiled. "That all? Want the best sous chef in town to whip you up somethin'?"

"That would be great, thank you."

"Awesome. Then why don't you have a seat –" He nodded over to a nearby table that was normally only used by the cooks. " –and I'll bring you something."

She did as she was told and, a few minutes later, he returned. "Here you go! Peanut butter and fluff. Your favorite!" He grinned. "I even cut the crusts off for you."

"Thank you, Tommy. That was very considerate."

"It's no problem! But I gotta get back to work. You know how Stanley gets when there's a dinner rush."

Maura just smiled and watched him go before she scarfed down the meal. Though it was small it was surprisingly filling, which allowed her to continue her explorations hunger-pang free.

After deciding to head outside, she ran into Frankie.

"Hey, Maura! I'm glad to see you're doing better."

"Thank you." She smiled at the security guard. "Today's been pretty crazy."

"You're telling me. I just caught someone tryin' to spear fish in the pond."

A look of horror crossed Maura's face. "They weren't successful, were they?"

"Nah. And they weren't even close. Not when they were tryin' to use a pool noodle as the spear."

That caused Maura to laugh.

"Anyway, I ran into Jane a couple minutes ago. She said she's waitin' for you out in the gazebo." He looked over to where it was before starting to walk away, calling the last bit over his shoulder. "Have fun!"

"I will!" She said before she practically skipped over to where her love was waiting for her.

"Hey honey!" Jane greeted.

Maura responded not with words but with a kiss. One that was rather passionate and steamy.

"What was that for?" The taller woman asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"For being wonderful." She stated simply before kissing her again. This tango of lips and tongues lasted for quite some time until they had to break away for air.

The two stood there for a few minutes, looking up at the night sky, until Maura spoke up.

"Did you know that kissing generally uses one muscle – the orbicularis oris – that is responsible for puckering your lips?" She looked over at Jane and pouted at the shocked face. "What?"

"What was that?"

"What do you mean?"

"That was some kind of like Google-speak. It came out of nowhere." She laughed. "Where'd you learn that?"

"Medical school." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Maura, sweetie… you never went to medical school."

"I didn't?" That was weird, she thought. She could have sworn she did. She tried searching her brain again but came up empty. Eventually she just resigned herself to thinking only of the present, as she was too tired today to think about the past.

A few minutes later, Jane interrupted the silence. "So… what do you want to do? We can stay here and make-out or go to the Jacuzzi and make-out or…"

"I'm exhausted. Can we just go back up to the room?"

"Of course, Maura." She said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "We can make-out there."

Instead of denying that would happen, Maura just sighed and laced their fingers together before leading them both up to their suite.

Though she did want to kiss the love of her life some more, Jane saw how truly tired she was and helped her get ready for bed. Soon, they were slipping under the covers together.

"Night sweetheart." Jane said, smiling at her love.

"Goodnight, Jane." She returned the smile before leaning over and capturing the chocolate-eyed beauty's lips.

Like every night before the accident, the two embraced and drifted off into a blissful sleep.

XXXXX

"Maura? Maura dear please wake up." David Isles tried, for the thousandth time.

Said woman blinked awake. She looked up at the man – who was currently stroking her hair – in confusion. "Father?"

He beamed. "Maura! You're awake!"

"I – What? Where am I?" She asked, looking around.

"You're at the hospital, sweetheart." He paused for a moment trying to think of the best way to word this. "Maura… you've been in a coma for the past few days. Do you remember what happened?"

She could only shake her head. "The last thing I remember is going to bed." She looked around when she realized something was missing. "Where's Jane?"

The male was visibly taken aback. "Jane? She – you told her you never wanted to see her again." He said, recalling the conversation he had with the detective shortly after his daughter was brought to the hospital.

She didn't know why but she had the odd feeling she was experiencing simultaneous amnesia and déjà vu. Nonetheless, she answered. "Why would I do that? I love her."

If Maura asking for Jane shocked him, this made him feel like he had just gotten tazed. "What?" He yelled.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry the update took so long. I had to write and rewrite almost every scene because it just wasn't turning out right. Also, this is definitely going to be longer than two chapters. I'm not sure how long at the moment.

XXXXX

"Why do you sound surprised? I love my wife." Maura said to her father who was sitting right beside her.

"Wife?" He asked himself softly, not really wanting her to hear. She was obviously confused and he didn't want to cause any undue distress. "I'll be right back, Maura. I need to go talk to the doctor about… something."

She watched him go, confused as to why he seemed off-put by her words. It's not like he didn't know she was married. After all, he walked her down the aisle at her wedding.

The M.E. – or in her mind, resort owner – waited a few minutes before getting up. In the process she had a few sensors tugged off of her, causing a few alarms to go off and a nurse to rush in.

"Dr. Isles, is everything okay in here?"

"My father's not a doctor. And he's not in here."

"I was talking to you."

She laughed. "I'm certainly not a doctor."

"Uh…" Figuring that was just the effects of the pain killers, she changed the subject. "You can't leave. You just woke up from a coma!"

"I need to find Jane."

Her brows furrowed. "Rizzoli? She's down the hall with Agent Dean."

"Agent?" She only knew one person with that name and he was a janitor. Nevertheless, she shook that off and focused on the more important thing. "Can I go see her?"

"How about if I go tell her to come here?"

Maura sighed but nodded and, after the nurse left, waited patiently… for a few minutes. As soon as she thought she should go out there and look for herself, Jane walked in.

"Hey, Maura…" She started out nervously. "I know why you called me here and I'm sorry. I will talk to Cavanaugh tomorrow but… I was just thinking. Do I really have to quit completely? I can just switch back to the drug unit. I'm sure my old team will welcome me back."

The bedridden woman looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about? And who's Cavanaugh?"

"Who – Cavanaugh's my boss…"

Maura sighed. "Jane… I really don't like it when you tease me. We went through this before, remember? And I remember everything now."

"You do?" She gulped. "Even… even how you got here?"

"Well, I was most likely unconscious during the trip here but, as for what happened that's a little fuzzy. I'm assuming that I had a concussion that went undiagnosed."

"It was a bit more than a concussion."

"Really? I don't have any brain damage do I?"

She shook her head. "Not that I heard, no. Just… a three day long coma is a bit more than a concussion, that's all." Jane looked at her for a moment before continuing. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"You asking me that question." She joked.

"Okay… what's the last thing you remember before waking up today?"

"Going to bed with you."

Jane's eyes widened. The last time they fell asleep in the same bed was quite awhile ago. "Really? Okay… I, uh… need to go talk to your doctor."

The Irish woman tilted her head but let her go. Minutes later Jane returned, Dr. Cooper in tow.

He knelt down at her bedside. "Maura, I hear you are having a bit of memory problems."

"I am…?" She looked at Jane who then spoke.

"Maura, you lost maybe a good few weeks of memory. We haven't been in the same bed together for awhile."

That caused her to frown.

The doctor spoke up again. "Is it possible you had a dream where that happened?"

Maura shook her head. "No. I don't remember any dreams."

"That's alright. But I do want to run a few more tests just to be sure you're okay." He stood up straight. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He said before leaving.

Jane took a seat next to the bed and was surprised when the hazel eyed woman took her hand. She just figured she needed some extra comfort and stroked it tenderly with her thumb.

The other woman thought for a moment about what to discuss but then decided to settle on something safe. "So… how's work?"

"Um…" The detective wasn't sure how to respond. She certainly didn't want to say anything about Doyle. "Well I haven't been back the whole time but if you're talking about the memory loss I'd say it was, uh… busy. Really busy."

Maura smiled at that. "That's great! I was worried for awhile but it's good we're getting more business."

Jane's eyes widened. "Since when is that a good thing?"

"Since we opened." She said matter-of-factly.

"Are we talking about the same thing?" The taller woman questioned.

"The resort?" She said slowly, worried about a possible head injury that Jane might have gone through.

"What resort?"

"You know… the one we built after college?"

Jane heaved a deep sigh, not sure how to respond. A moment later she decided that she should stick to her usual strategy – bluntness. "I've never even been to a resort, Maura… unless that spa day we had counts."

Just as Maura was about to respond, the doctor came back in. "Jane, can I speak to you outside for a moment?"

She nodded and, after a glance to Maura, went out into the hallway.

"So after talking to a few people, plus overhearing the conversation you two just had, I'm thinking she had a very vivid dream and her mind is only letting her remember what happened in that world and not this one. It's most likely for protection of her psyche considering what happened during the past week."

Jane nodded. That certainly made sense. "So how do we fix it?"

"There's nothing _we _can do. It has to undo itself. I'd say the only thing you can do is bring her to familiar places. If you try to force it you might cause harm."

She frowned at that. What if she snapped back to reality and remembered everything? Would that mean she would hate her again? "Can't we just hit her on the head again?"

"That only works on television and would more than likely make things worse."

She sighed. "Oh. Well, thanks for the info anyway, doc."

"No problem." He motioned for her to go back inside and followed. "So, Maura. We're going to give you another brain scan right now just as a precautionary measure." He turned to Jane. "Sorry, you're not going to be able to follow along."

She nodded. "That's fine. I'll just go back down the hall." She said before leaving to do so. As she sat in the chair next to the still sleeping Dean, she thought about what had happened. It was certainly odd, to say the least. But, hopefully, maybe all that happened was that Maura had a bit too much morphine in her system.

She sat there for a while longer until she fell asleep.

By then, Maura had been returned to her room. She was slightly upset when she saw that the woman she loved was not there waiting for her but figured she would be back soon. When an hour passed with no sign of Jane, she decided to take matters into her own hands and find her on her own. This time she tinkered with the machines before getting up so that the alarms would not go off. She wasn't sure how she knew which buttons to push but didn't think on that too much.

As her leg had been injured when the ceiling attacked her – though she had no recollection of that event – she had to limp her way down the hall to where she thought her love was. After peering into a couple rooms she finally found the right one.

She smiled when she saw the sweet sleeping face but furrowed her brows in confusion when she saw whose room she was in. Chalking it up to Jane just falling asleep while checking in on her employee, she made her way over and took the adjacent seat. The sound of her collapsing into the chair, however, startled the detective from her sleep.

"Maura? What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed?" She asked, sleepy-eyed.

Said woman shrugged. "I didn't know where you were and if you were ever coming back. I wanted to see you."

Jane smiled and wrapped her left arm around the shorter woman's shoulders, gently pulling her in closely.

Maura snuggled in closely and smiled. Though it had only been a few hours that she had been awake since they have done this, it felt like an eternity for her and she was glad to be back in her love's arms. After a few moments she could no longer curb her desire for something else. "Jane?"

Said woman turned and was surprised at what came next. The M.E. leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. The sensation sent her mind reeling but she was worried more about the sudden action then the pleasant reaction she was currently experiencing.

When they pulled away, Maura was confused at Jane's facial expression. Before she was able to question her, someone beat her to it.

"Jane?" Gabriel Dean – now awake – whispered hoarsely. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Uh…" She wasn't sure what to say. If she told the truth – that she had no idea – she would risk hurting Maura. If she went along with whatever the hell it was her best friend was doing she would hurt Dean. Just as she was about to go for a third option – that is, running away – Maura spoke up.

"Don't talk to her like that! And you shouldn't be so surprised. You've caught us kissing dozens of times." She paused as those fabricated memories came rushing to her.

He looked at her blankly before turning his stare to the currently befuddled detective. "What the hell's she talking about, Rizzoli?"

She just shook her head slowly as her expression stayed resembling a deer caught in headlights. It seemed someone was on her side, though, when a nurse walked in and clucked her tongue at the bandaged up woman.

"Dr. Isles, I thought you were firmly instructed to stay in your bed!" She motioned for her to get up and come with her but, when she refused, physically dragged her out, leaving Jane and Gabriel behind.

"So?" He asked expectantly.

"I have no idea what just happened. Honest."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her.

"Really! Just hours ago I thought she hated me and now _that_! I – the doctor thinks she had a dream and that's the only thing she remembers as being real. That might have something to do with it."

"So you're not cheating on me with your best friend?"

"No! Of course not!" Though, she couldn't help but think, she would definitely dump him in a heartbeat if the circumstances surrounding Maura's sudden love for her were different.

"Good." He smiled. "You know what you should do?"

"What?"

"Prove that to me with a kiss." His cheeky grin indicated that he was slightly joking around but also a bit worried about the turn of affairs.

She did so and noticed something peculiar. While the kiss still had the same spark it did from before it wasn't as strong as before – when she locked lips with the M.E. She pulled away and gave him a slight smile. "I, uh… should get going. I'll see you later, Gabriel." She stood and walked out of the room.

Her first instinct was to leave the hospital completely and maybe spend some quality time at the Robber. However, she took a turn and headed into another wing. Walking a few more feet she stood in front of a drawn curtain.

"Mrs. Isles? Are you awake?"

"Jane? Is that you, darling?"

"Yes. Can I come in?"

"Of course!"

The detective pulled back the fabric and stepped into the area. The older woman looked pretty much the same as the last time she saw her, which isn't surprising since it wasn't that long ago. Her face and arms were still badly cut up but she seemed to be healing.

"Is everything alright?" Constance asked, noticing the look on Jane's face.

She looked up suddenly but tried to keep a stoic look. "I was just coming to see how you were doing."

The artist gave her a skeptical stare. "I know something happened, you cannot fool me. Is there something wrong with Maura?"

Jane sat down and measured her words carefully. "Maybe not… wrong. But she's not acting like herself."

"How do you mean?"

She explained to the older woman what had happened the last few hours. After she was finished explaining she let it sink in for a few minutes before continuing. "What do you think I should do?"

Constance thought for a moment before coming up with the simplest answer in the world. "Just keep doing what you've been doing. You're her best friend even though that's a bit complicated right now."

"Yeah…" She looked down at her hands and ran her thumb along the scars in the center of her palm and remembered Maura being there for her when Hoyt was after her. This was a different kind of battle, she knew, but she had to help her through it.

They continued talking for a few minutes until Dr. Cooper came in.

"There you are, Jane. I wanted to let you know that Maura has been discharged and is ready to go home. The tests we ran didn't find anything so the only thing to worry about is the amnesia. I want you to keep a close eye on her."

Jane's heart sunk. She kind of hoped she would have a bit more time to herself but nodded, ready to take on the responsibility. It didn't take too long to pull the car around and help the M.E. in.

The ride home Jane was ill at ease due to the fact that the whole time, Maura had her hand covering hers. That didn't bother her as much as the implications did. She had spent a large majority of the time away from the other woman today in deep thought about this and soon came to realize she wouldn't mind a relationship with the M.E. The thing that worried her most was the fact that this _wasn't _the same Maura she knew but some altered version that could change back at any moment. If she went along with the dream that the doctor was in then she felt like she would be taking advantage of her best friend. If she didn't she risked hurting her. It was a lose-lose situation, really.

"Jane? You okay?"

"Huh?" She broke away and glanced briefly at her passenger. "Yeah, fine. I'm just focusing on driving."

"Oh."

The detective could barely keep back a sigh at her main concern at the moment: being alone with the other woman when she gets to their destination.

A few minutes they arrived at the immaculate home of Maura Isles.

"I thought you said we were going home?"

"We did. This is your house."

Maura stared at the unfamiliar building in confusion. "No… we live further away. At the resort."

She thought of something on the spot that might help her get out of this. "This is a home you bought as an investment. It's closer so I figured we could stay here for the night."

"Oh. Good idea." That seemed to mollify her for now.

Jane exited the car and went around to the passenger side to help the other woman into the house. When the door closed, the detective was a little nervous about the look in the M.E.'s eyes.

"Good… now we're alone." She said with a flirtatious grin.

"Y-yeah, we are… and there was something I wanted to talk to you about…" She said, backing away from the approaching woman.

"Yes?"

Her brain worked furiously to come up with anything to say until something popped up. "Well, uh… Maura. Tomorrow is your… is Patrick Doyle's funeral. Did you want to go?"

"Why would I? I have no idea who that is."

"Just… I think you should go. When you do get your memory back, you're going to regret not going. Just trust me on this."

She nodded. "Okay. I trust you more than anything. If you think I should go, I'll go. But… will you come with me?"

"Of course." When she saw her starting to walk up to her again, she said something she thought she never would. "Can you help me decide what to wear?" She pointed back towards the bedroom where she knew there was a closet full of acceptable clothing.

This caused a smile to appear on Maura's face. "Of course!" She grabbed the detective and started to drag her away but paused. "Are there clothes in this house?"

Switching positions, Jane pulled the shorter woman in the right direction – already regretting her decision.


	3. Chapter 3

Hours, and hundreds of outfits, later Maura finally decided on something suitable for Jane to wear the next day. The sun had set awhile ago and both women were exhausted from the long, tumultuous day they faced.

"Bedtime?" Maura asked.

The detective nodded her head. "You can take this room. I'll go down the hall." A pouted lip and furrowed brow warned her of what was coming next.

"We're sleeping separately? We haven't done that since the night before our wedding."

Jane's eyebrows shot up at this new piece of the dream puzzle but she quickly settled down. "Oh… uh…I'll join you in a few minutes. I have a few things I need to take care of."

While Maura thought the demeanor of the other woman was odd she shrugged it off as she was too tired to really think about it. After getting ready for bed, she fell asleep quickly.

Meanwhile, Jane was currently pacing in the living room. Her mind was swarming with an endless assortment of things – all having to do with the woman sleeping not too far away.

She looked around the house that she thought, after the other day, she would never get to see again. A tear escaped her duct when she was struck with the notion that she might never be able to be around Maura the same way again. No more sports days with the whole family gathered around that television to watch the Patriots, Celtics or Sox. No more hours spent beating her best friend at chess. No more grumbling during family dinners at the table she just sat down at.

She sighed and wiped her face free of the tears that seemed to multiply. If she could turn back the clock she would never have shot Doyle. No, scratch that. She never would have told Gabriel about him being back in the first place.

And then it hit her.

He went against his promise.

Why didn't she see it before? She specifically asked him to not do anything until she said so and then he just shows up at the factory and shoots the man.

A low growl escaped her throat and she had to mentally convince herself to not rush to the hospital and tear him a new one. This was all _his _fault.

Okay, not completely, she knew. But her world would be in a much better place if he hadn't shown up when he did, that's for sure. She and non-amnesiac Maura would probably still be friends.

A chance glance at the clock alerted her to the time and she internally kicked herself for staying away from the other woman for too long. After standing, she stepped lightly and slowly towards the bedroom. When she noticed her asleep she let her tenseness dissipate with one swift exhale. It came back just as quickly when something occurred to her. What was she going to do now? She certainly couldn't slip into bed with the alluring woman – no matter how tempting it was – lest she wake her. But if Maura awoke without her present she was going to be upset.

She thought for a moment longer before walking out, figuring it was probably best to _not _stand over the sleeping woman like a creeper.

After heading into the spare room, she sunk into the bed and let out another heavy-hearted sigh. Collapsing backwards, she let her mind settle and, eventually, succumb to sleep.

When morning came, she was awoken from her dreams by a pleasant smell and followed the aroma into the kitchen. She wasn't at all surprised to see the M.E. flipping something off the stove and onto a plate.

"Morning sweetheart." She said without even turning around.

Jane couldn't hold back the goofy grin that appeared when she heard that blissful sound but quickly forced it away. "M-morning."

"Sit down. Breakfast is almost ready." The apron clad woman instructed.

She did as she was told and, a moment later, Maura came over.

"Your favorite!" She chimed, placing the plate of bunny shaped pancakes in front of her.

She blinked in surprise when she saw the meal.

Maura frowned. "Is something wrong? Is that not your favorite?"

"No! It's perfect! Just – usually you're trying to get me to eat oatmeal or something made out of twigs."

"Geez, Jane, that was one time! And you were sick!"

"Oh… right… I forgot…" She said monotonously as she reminded herself, once again, to not assume certain things are the same with the other woman right now.

"You sure are acting strangely." She stated as she sat down in a chair diagonal to the detective. She took her hand and gazed into her eyes. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"No… I can't think of anything."

"Okay… well there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Yeah?" She asked anxiously.

"Why is your mother here?" She shifted her gaze briefly to the door that lead to the guest house. She had run into Angela that morning when she came in to get some coffee before she went to work.

"Oh! That!" She laughed in relief. "She, uh… has been taking care of the house for us?"

"Why isn't she in the main house, then?"

"She… likes small spaces." The lie was the most obvious thing in the world but, lucky for her, the doctor didn't notice.

There was a slight silence as Jane enjoyed her breakfast before Maura spoke."So what time is the, uh, funeral?"

"Not until later. It's at four."

"Oh." She checked the time and it wasn't even ten. "What do you want to do until then?"

She thought for a moment to try and think of something safe. Something that would involve them going out but not being around people they know, lest they confuse Maura. "Wanna go pretend to be tourists?" She asked excitedly, hoping this version of her would finally concede to the idea.

"What?"

"C'mon, it'll be fun! We don't have to do anything big. We can just go to the Common or something… no duck boats though."

"Why don't we just go home? Spend some quality time together?" She gave her a flirty grin and a wink.

"No! We – we can't!"

"Why not?"

"It's, uh… being fumigated? Yeah, big bed bug problem outta nowhere while you were asleep!"

"That's horrible!" She frowned.

"Yeah, a real tragedy." She said with her usual sarcasm in place. "Wanna go or not?"

"I don't know, Jane…"

"Okay, we can always just go visit your mother." She shrugged.

"But isn't she in France?"

"Uh… no. She came to town when she heard the news of your hospitalization and got hit by a car." She responded, pretty proud of coming up with that slight twist on the truth on the fly. "But she's fine. The doctors say she's recovering nicely."

Shocked at the sudden news, the doctor stuttered. "I… I'm going to go take a shower now so we can leave soon." She turned but then stopped and faced the other woman again. "Unless… you wanted to join me?"

Jane felt her face heat up instantly and was sure it was beet red. She shook her head as she squeaked out her answer. "No thanks… you go ahead first."

With a quick smile, Maura turned and left.

The detective watched her go before going back to her pancakes. However, the thought of being in the shower with the other woman lingered in her mind. She couldn't say she wasn't tempted to join her but, like last night, she willed herself against it – this time taking more effort to do so. That didn't stop her from fantasizing, though, causing her breakfast to go cold as her body heated up.

"Are you feeling okay, Jane? You're all red." Maura stated when she walked out, clad in a towel that didn't do much to hide her curves.

Jane's brain short circuited when she looked up. She blinked a few times and then got up and headed straight for the bathroom to take an ice cold shower.

Maura frowned at the barely eaten breakfast. After getting dressed she came back out to finish it as she waited for Jane to finish up. Though she wanted to hop back in now that her love was in there she refrained, wanting to have more time with her mother before they would have to leave.

It didn't take too long for the detective to finish up and they left within the hour.

After a rather quick drive up there they spent a few minutes looking for parking. Walking inside they spotted Dr. Cooper.

"Jane? Maura? You're back. Everything okay?" He looked at the shorter woman for any signs of injury or distress.

"We're just visiting Mrs. Isles." Jane answered, pointing in the general direction of said woman.

"Oh, of course! Go right ahead." He smiled at them before leaving.

Jane led her companion down a hall to where Constance was. The curtain was already pulled back, as a nurse was currently checking up on her.

"Hello darlings!" The mother said with a smile.

"Hello mother." She was happy to see her but also distressed at seeing her in the state she was in. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Thanks to Jane keeping her in the loop she wasn't surprised at the question. She decided to stick with a short answer. "I was hit by a car but I'm fine now. How are you feeling?"

Maura sighed. "Pretty good, I guess. I'm a little confused as to why I'm bruised all over and have a bunch of cuts, though."

When Constance shot a look at the detective, Jane cleared her throat and stepped backwards. "I think I'm gonna go check on Dean." She said before exiting completely, leaving mother and daughter alone.

She made her way to the other side of the hospital and to the door she knew he was behind. She steeled herself before grabbing the handle and opening the door. Unlucky for him, he was awake.

"Jane!" He smiled.

"Don't you 'Jane' me!" She growled. "I told you to stay out of it and you didn't! You went back on your promise!"

He rolled his eyes. He really didn't want to get into this right now… or ever. "He was on the FBI's most wanted list! Do you really think I'm going to let him go just because he shares some DNA with your best friend?"

"That's not what we're talking about here!" She said, poking his chest and causing him to wince. "The fact of the matter is that you lied to me! If you knew there was even a chance that you would go after him then you shouldn't have promised me that you would stay back!"

He sighed. "Geez… I'm sorry, okay? I was just looking out for you."

"And I was looking out for my best friend."

He gritted his teeth at that answer and pressed his fingers to his temple for a moment before he spoke. "It all goes back to Maura, doesn't it? I am so sick of her coming first! If you want this relationship to work you're gonna have to spend more time with me than you do with her!"

Her mouth dropped open. "Seriously? You think we still even have a relationship? You're dumber than I thought you were, Dean. In case you need me to spell it out: we're over!" She started to walk out.

"No! Wait, Jane!"

She stopped but didn't turn around.

"Just… come here. Please?"

Sighing, she faced him and walked over. "What?"

"I love you. I'm just a little jealous of the relationship you have with her. Is it a crime to want you all to myself?" He shot a suave smile but it had no effect on the detective.

"No. It's a little creepy and possessive but not a crime." Her tone was fraught with condescension.

"Just – tell me what I can say to get out of this." He pleaded. "I want to be with you!"

She spoke her last words to him while she walked away. "There's nothing you can say! You've already ruined your chances with me!" Stepping outside, she came face to face with a furious looking medical examiner whom she hoped wasn't standing there that long. "What?" She asked naively.

"What? It sounds like you just broke up with Gabriel, that's what!" She said as firmly as she could without breaking down.

"That's because I did." She responded but then froze, realizing what that sounded like to the woman before her.

"So you don't even deny it? That you were cheating on me? And with the _janitor_?" The volume and pitch of her voice increased with every word. "How long has this been going on, huh?"

Jane's face was bright red and she could barely hear with her heart pounding a million beats per second. "Please, Maura, don't make a scene here. We can talk about this outside." She went to grab the shorter woman's arm to lead her away but it was ripped out of her grasp.

"There's nothing to talk about! You broke your vows! I… I don't even know how to feel right now…" She said and then walked away.

Jane followed. "Maura!" She yelled, feeling frustrated and scared. "Wait! It's not what you think!"

Said woman turned around, eyes full of fury. "Oh, it's not? So you _weren't _dating him?"

The detective sighed. "I… I was but –"

Maura held her hand up – effectively silencing the other woman. For a brief moment.

"We're not married!"

That caused the shorter woman to laugh. "Of course you're not married to him. You're married to me!"

"No! I'm not!" She yelled, not even worried about the people around them who were staring. "Didn't you wonder why you're not wearing a wedding ring? Or why I wasn't? Take a look at your driver's license. It has the same last name you had when you met me!" She stopped but didn't let her gaze waver from the currently befuddled woman in front of her.

Maura just stood there for a few moments, letting the words sink in. She swallowed but found her mouth to be completely dried up. Taking in a deep breath, she opened the purse that was on her shoulder and found her wallet. Inside was her license that stated it clearly: Maura Isles.

Jane waited, heart pounding nervously. Dr. Cooper had said not to force it but she saw no way around it. She watched as a variety of emotions crossed the M.E.'s face until it settled on one: despair.

Hazel eyes started to water as a bottom lip trembled. Maura closed her eyes and took in an uneven breath. She was taking this surprisingly well considering the fact that her whole world was crumbling around her. Everything she thought she knew was a lie. Eventually she looked up and, through a haze, asked a question. "Was anything real?"

The detective's mouth opened and closed a few times before she shrugged unhelpfully. "I don't know what you believed, Maura. I mean – we're not married… we don't own a resort… none of that is true."

"Then why can't I remember anything else?" She shouted in agony and frustration. She placed her hands on her forehead as her back hit the wall behind her. Sliding down, she let out another sound of sorrow.

The taller woman joined her and wrapped her arms around her and rubbed the other woman's shoulder soothingly.

"Jane… am I going crazy?" She whispered shakily.

"No." She spoke lightly but firmly. "You just had a dream in your coma that your brain chose as real." She placed a light kiss on the distressed woman's head. "You have amnesia, Maura. The doctor said it might take a little while but you'll get your memory back."

"Promise?"

She knew there was still a chance it wouldn't happen but she nodded anyway. "Yeah… I promise."

"Thanks, Jane." Maura said with a slight smile as she snuggled into the other woman.

Jane thought of something that might make her feel better but was hesitant to say it. Nonetheless, a few moments later, she did. "I know one thing that's the same…"

"What?"

She knew she would regret it if Maura remembered this when she snapped out of her state of amnesia but she couldn't help herself. She brushed a strand of hair back and, with no concern about the people around them, placed a delicate kiss upon the other woman's lips. "I do love you."

That caused a smile so bright it had enough electricity behind it to power these halls and all the machines in it for a year. "Thank you. You've been the only constant, Jane. Even before, you – well, dream you I guess – made it seem like everything was going to be okay no matter how confused I was."

The chocolate-eyed woman smiled back. "I'm always here for you, just remember that for as long as you can. Whenever you need me, I'm here."

"Thanks." She snuggled against the other woman again and they stayed like that for a while.

Eventually, Jane spoke up. "It's getting kinda late." She said, checking her phone. "And people are starting to stare." She laughed and stood, holding out her hand to the other woman. "We need to go get ready."

Maura frowned. "Do we really have to go?"

"Yes… trust me, we do." As much as she _really _didn't want to go – especially considering it was her bullet that caused him to die in the first place – she knew that, in the future, Maura would be upset she wasn't there.

As they walked out of the hospital and into the parking lot, Jane had a sinking feeling that the emotional roller coaster she had just been through wasn't far from being over.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the delay. My computer got a virus so I wasn't even able to work on the story for a couple days.

XXXXX

The drive home was silent but not as awkwardly so as it was in the past day. Jane had her hand resting comfortably in Maura's and both women had gentle smiles placed upon their faces.

When they got there they dressed in the same room, though separated by the door of the massive walk-in closet.

"So how did I know this Patrick Doyle?" Maura asked when she walked into the main part of the room, buttoning up her blouse.

"Uh, someone you just recently… reconnected with."

She looked over at her with a puzzled yet slightly amused look. "You're not going to give any more than that, are you?"

"Nope!" She smoothed out her dress and exited the room, looking behind herself in confusion when she was followed. "You're done already?" Jane asked, surprised.

"Yes. Why? Do I look bad?"

"No! It's just – you usually take a lot longer to decide on something to wear, that's all. It's only one-thirty… I was counting on another two hours at the least."

"Do I really take that long?"

The taller woman laughed. "Yeah… I guess something good _did _come out of your amnesia, after all." She joked.

Maura gave her a look telling her not to joke about that. "So… what are we going to do for two hours?"

Jane shrugged. "I guess we can grab lunch on the way there." She offered. "I am getting kinda hungry…"

"Alright then. Where would you like to go?"

The detective shrugged. "I dunno. But it's gotta be something that won't get all over the place." She motioned to her outfit. "I really don't want to have to find something else to wear."

"I would suggest sushi but if you are the same way with chopsticks as I think you are then that's defiantly out of the question." She quipped.

Jane took deep offense to that. "Hey! I'm learning!"

Maura laughed.

"How about we go to that place around the corner? I've been craving some fried clam strips lately." She suggested.

"Sounds good!" The doctor smiled as she grabbed her purse.

They headed out and made the short drive to the restaurant. It took them ten times longer to find parking then it did to drive there but, eventually, they found a spot that wasn't too far away.

During their brief walk there, Maura reached over and interlaced her fingers with Jane's. This action startled the detective for a moment but, a moment later, she smiled and gave a gentle squeeze.

When they entered, a soft ring indicated their arrival to the employees. They stepped up to the counter and looked the menu over.

"Know what you are getting yet?" The chocolate-eyed woman asked after a moment.

She shrugged. "I'm not all that hungry. I ate the rest of your breakfast earlier."

Jane thought for a second before coming up with an idea. "We could get a large and share?"

"Sounds perfect." Maura smiled.

They placed the order and, minutes later, got their food. Sitting down in a booth, the shorter woman cozied up to Jane who was still a little uncomfortable about reciprocating any affection due to the other woman's condition.

When nearly half the basket was gone, the detective realized that Maura hadn't eaten very many of them.

"You sure you don't want more?" Jane asked, holding one up.

She regarded the basket for a moment, weighing the decision to have more fried food than she really should. "They are pretty good…"

"Here." She held the strip closer to the M.E.'s mouth who bit into it and let out an approving sound.

After Jane ate what was left of that piece, she spoke. "See? I told you! Totally worth it!" She grinned.

"It is… definitely." She smiled before feeding the other woman a piece as well. They went back and forth with this until there were only a few pieces left.

A sudden nugget of information popped up into Maura's head that she felt compelled to share. "Did you know there was a study done about the intimacy expressed in sharing food?"

Jane spluttered out some of her soda. "R-really?"

"Yep! By Miller, Rozin and Fiske. It was a fascinating study that looked at college students' own behavior with sharing food as well as how they viewed others in an experiment where they observed couples engaging in different degrees of food sharing and then rated their relationship. We just essentially fulfilled what they dubbed the consubstantiation condition which increases the intimacy judgments others make of us."

Face slightly reddened, she replied. "That's… very interesting, Maura."

"Thank you! Though I'm not sure why I know something like that…I don't even remember reading it."

"It'll come back to you." She said, patting the other woman on the shoulder before popping another deep-fried sea critter into her mouth while making a mental note to not share food like that with her again in public until everything was completely okay between them again.

They spent the last few minutes in the restaurant chatting as the number of pieces left remaining in the basket dwindled down to zero. Because they still had a decent chunk of time left before they really needed to leave, they decided to spend a while walking around for a bit. They quickly got lost in their conversation and almost lost complete track of time. Luckily a passerby mentioning the current time alerted them to their slight tardiness and they turned and ran to the car before driving quickly to the church where the services were taking place.

When they arrived it was awfully crowded. The church was filled with a vast mix of people, some who looked solemn but threatening while others looked fairly normal. They took a seat towards the back and, a few minutes later, the service started. The minutes crept by ever so slowly as a number of people went up and spoke about the deceased man. While he was seen by others as a bad man, it was obvious he was at least respected by those who were around him. Jane felt uncomfortable being in a room filled with so many people she assumed to be criminals but kept her cop-like urges in check as she stroked the hand of the woman beside her. She just hoped nobody here knew that she was partly responsible for his death. She would hate to find out what they would do.

It seemed like hours later when all the words were done being spoken and it was time for the viewing. One by one each person walked by the casket and took a moment to say something, whether silently or aloud.

When they got closer to the body, Maura turned around to face the other woman. "I don't know about this, Jane… it's a dead body. What if I freak out when I see it?"

Said woman's face made an odd expression as she tried her best to suppress a laugh. In the end all that came out was an odd snort like sound. "You won't, trust me. And I really think you should see him."

Nodding, she walked forward as the line had moved. A few minutes later it was her turn and she peered into the open casket.

She froze.

It all came back to her. The firefighter, her father, the shooting… the hatred returned to her eyes, though the love in her heart she still held for Jane lessened it somewhat. She turned around and faced the woman responsible. "You killed my father."

Jane's eyes widened as she deflated and her heart sunk. It seemed she snapped out of her amnesiac state, though she wished this would have happened in a privater place. "Shh… not so loud." She whispered. "There are people around here that will kill me if they hear you."

Maura glared but kept her mouth shut. She allowed herself to be led into another room where they would be away from prying ears.

When she was sure they were alone, Jane began her defense. "He was a mob boss, Maura! He shot two people right in front of me! What was I supposed to do, wait until he shot me and Frost? Maybe even you?"

"He wasn't going to shoot me!" She shot back, knowing her argument didn't really hold much ground. That didn't lessen her fury, though, as her mind was currently working on emotion rather than logic.

"So you'd rather have Frost or me dead?" Her eyebrows were up, creating an expectant look on her face.

"No…" She sighed. She wanted to be mad at the other woman but something was different from her last memories with the woman. It's like something softened her defenses but she couldn't put her finger on it. "But I'm still mad at you."

"I understand." She looked down in sadness but forced her head back up when the other woman spoke again.

"Why are you even here anyway? And how did I get here?"

"You… you don't remember anything that's happened today? Yesterday?"

"You shot my father and he died."

Jane shook her head. "That was four days ago, Maura."

Said woman's eyes widened. "What? How's that – how is that even possible?"

She explained, once again, what happened. "You were in a coma after the roof caved in on you. You woke up yesterday with amnesia." She frowned as the seemingly wasted day with the other woman came back to her. "You really don't remember what happened since you woke up?"

"No, I don't." She replied, slightly annoyed at the repeated question. "Why? Did something important happen?"

Jane mulled that over for a moment before responding. "Well… it depends on your definition of important."

"According to Merriam-Webster, it means marked by or indicative of significant worth or consequence."

The detective couldn't help but smirk at Maura getting back to her regular behavior. "Then, yes, I thought it was pretty important. I think you did too… well, the other you. The one that's not pissed at me."

The M.E. narrowed her eyes at her. "What does that even mean?"

"You were –" She shook her head, deciding to start a different way. "When you woke up you were convinced that the dream you had in your coma was true. Things were a lot different there and, well… it was kind of nice for a little while. I thought I would never get to talk to you again but then I did and you were fine. Well, except for the amnesia. I… I just was happy we were spending time together again." She sighed. "But I guess I should actually go talk to Cavanaugh now." She turned and headed for the door.

"No, wait."

She turned around, hopeful look on her face.

"You don't have to quit. I – I was just in the heat of the moment."

"So we're okay?" She asked with a smile.

"Oh, I still hate you." She said with conviction. "But I can tolerate you. The city needs their best detective so who am I to make her quit?"

Even though that was the biggest compliment she had received in awhile, Jane's face still fell. "Oh… okay. Uh, I guess you don't need me here anymore so I'll just go ahead and leave you." She turned to leave again.

"Wait… one more thing." She said, stopping her.

Without turning around, she spoke. "What is it?"

"I feel like there's something more to what happened."

Jane swallowed sharply. "Like what?"

"Like… something more happened between us then you're letting on."

"I – I don't think there was any – "

"Cut the crap, Rizzoli. What happened?"

Though she was surprised at the forceful tone, her face stayed the same as she shook her head. "I don't know why I should tell you. You'll just have more reason to hate me."

"So not telling me is better? I'll just think it's the worst possible thing… did you find out who my biological mother is and kill her too?"

"What – no!" The taller woman protested, surprised at the leap of judgment.

"Then tell me!" She walked up to the other woman and stared her down.

Jane looked into the passion filled eyes and felt a spark of arousal before squelching it down and walking away. "I'm leaving."

"Jane!" She yelled to no avail, as the door shut in her face. She let out a frustrated sigh and placed a hand at her temple. The thought about the situation she was in for a moment before remembering where she was. When she walked back out there were still a few people in line to give their last words. She sighed and walked to the end of the line so that she could pay her respects properly. When it was her turn again she looked down. Since she was the last one there she spent a little more time than she would normally.

"Hello Father." She said with a sad smile. "I – I'm sorry we didn't really know each other that well or didn't get to spend that much time together. While I know that you were a bad man I still see part of me in you – the part of you that did everything you could to protect me. I might not go out and kill people that threaten my loved ones but I do what I can." Her mind drifted off to the various life-threatening scenarios she and Jane had to face where she actually helped the other woman survive. She sighed. "I wish you were able to tell me who my mother was before you died but I suppose that's something I will have to figure out for myself." She looked at him for a moment before reaching out and touching his cheek gently. "Goodbye." A tear slid down her cheek and hit the fabric of the casket where it was quickly absorbed.

She sniffled a little bit before turning and following the last few people out. Even though she didn't know where the burial was taking place she got there by trailing a car she noticed from the parking lot. There were even more people at the cemetery, though most of them were protesters whose families had been affected by Doyle's criminal behavior. They were kept back by the police officers that were assigned to the event, a few of whom she remembered from work.

Only a few minutes after she joined the rest of the mourners the final words were started. Since most everything was already said at the church this was done in a few minutes. The coffin bearers then lowered the body containing box into the grave where the funeral director tossed some dirt in as was custom. A few more individuals in the crowd echoed the symbolic act – some throwing in earth while others decided to offer a flower of some kind.

After a couple last statements from Doyle's relatives the group was dismissed as the rest of the casket was covered with the remaining displaced earth by the staff of the cemetery.

When Maura almost reached her car she was stopped by a woman.

"Maura? Is that you?"

She looked at the somewhat familiar person and furrowed her brows as she tried to figure out who she was. "Uh, yes? Who are you?"

"I thought I might see you here!" She smiled. "I'm Hope."

Maura's brows furrowed for a split second before they shot up, remembering the last words her father ever spoke. "Hope? He – he wasn't hoping something… he was telling me – are you my mother?" Though the beginnings of her sentence were to herself, she directed the last bit to the woman in front of her.

She nodded. "Biologically, yes, but Constance raised you. She's what constitutes a mother."

The M.E. was too surprised at this new development that she didn't even question how the woman before her knew her mother. She wanted to ask her so many other things but hesitated.

Hope saw this and goaded her. "You can ask me anything you want. You know that, right?"

She did so almost immediately. "Why didn't you want me?" That was the biggest question in her mind.

"But I did. I – I was young and was just starting college. I thought – no, I knew life would be better for both of us if I gave you up for adoption. But, believe me, I wanted you. That was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life."

Tears welled up in Maura's eyes as she stepped forward and embraced the woman that was responsible for her being alive.

Taken aback by this, it took Hope a moment to return the gesture but did so happily, her eyes watering as well.

When they pulled away they just looked at each other, searching for physical features in the other that they recognized in themselves. After a moment, Hope spoke.

"I really want to get to know you, Maura. Would you like to maybe grab some dinner and catch me up on your life?"

Maura nodded and smiled. "I would love to."


	5. Chapter 5

"So you've told me so much about yourself… is there anything you'd like to know about me?" Hope asked, sticking a fork into her chicken salad.

Maura nodded. "How did you two know my parents?"

"Ah, that's an… interesting question." She said before she thought about how to start. "Well obviously they adopted you from us."

"Yes. But I'm sensing something deeper?"

She nodded. "It was about a year before you were born that I started dating your father." She saw Maura's eyebrows scrunch in confusion and she thought she should clarify. "Patrick." She thought for a moment before continuing. "It didn't take very long for me to realize that he was involved in some very bad things but I stuck with him. We were very much in love." She smiled at the memories. "Anyway, I was walking home one night from the university your father – David – had just started working at and I got attacked. I don't remember much but I understood that they were rivals of Patrick and they knew I was involved with him. The next thing I remember is David running out of a nearby building and somehow chasing them away. He brought me in to make sure I was okay and drove me home a while later. From then on we became good friends. I helped him out with grading after class in exchange for rides home. Patrick and I also had dinner with your parents a few times. And then…" She looked down. "And then I found out I was pregnant with you." Wringing her hands together, she kept silent for a moment. "I kept quiet about it for awhile but once I started to show, I couldn't avoid it much longer. David was the first person I told and, after we talked about it I decided the best thing to do was let him and Constance adopt you. That way they could get the child they weren't able to conceive on their own and I was able to continue my education without having to look after you."

"That does make sense." Maura nodded. "But… why am I just now meeting you? I would have thought, from your story, that you would have been included in my life somewhat."

"That was originally intended, yes, but when Patrick's life of crime became more prominent, your mother didn't want you to be exposed to that. And I was a stupid teenager who chose him over you."

The M.E. sat there and allowed all the information to sink in. She couldn't help but feel upset at her deceased father for choosing his business over her. They carried on with this conversation as they continued with their dinner, though the topic at hand got more attention from the both of them.

Meanwhile, across town, Jane, who had just arrived home from walking the whole way, collapsed on her bed with a sigh in a heap of sorrow and morose despair. Any bit of self-pity was cut short by the ring of her phone.

She let out another sigh – this time of frustration – before answering. "Whaddya want, Ma?"

"That's no way to talk to your mother!"

The detective pulled the phone away from her mouth for a moment to let out another frustrated sigh. "Sorry… what's up?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. Maura seemed a little weird this morning."

"Yeah… that was just the amnesia."

"Oh. That makes sense. Did you try hitting her on the head again?"

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "This isn't a TV show, Ma. That won't work. And besides, she snapped out of it already."

Angela smiled. "That's good to hear. Listen, I made dinner for everyone but Maura's not home yet. Is she with you?"

"Nope."

"Really? Hmm… well can you give her a call?"

"Nope."

"Jane, stop being difficult. Just call her."

"I can't."

"Did Detective Frost switch the names in your phone to Star Wars characters again?"

A ghost of a smile passed on her face as she remembered that time. The funniest part was Korsak's number being listed as 'Chewbacca'. "No. But me an' Maura aren't talking right now."

"Oh, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Just go ahead and have dinner without me."

Angela frowned at the depressed tone in her daughter's voice but didn't protest. "You're lucky I need to tend to the sauce or I would keep pushing you. We will talk about this later, though."

"Yeah, yeah. Go fix dinner."

"Bye Janey, I love you."

Jane grumbled a bit but replied. "Love you too, Ma." She hung up the phone and flipped over before yelling into her pillow.

XXXXX

The two blood-linked women were deep in conversation about their current lives when they were interrupted by the ring of a cell phone.

Maura looked at her caller ID and frowned. "I'm sorry, I think I need to take this."

"Go ahead." Hope said with a hand gesture that said the same.

She smiled and got up, pressing the phone to her ear. "Hello Angela."

"I made dinner! Tommy and Frankie are already here. Where are you?"

"I – uh – I just ate, I'm sorry. I was… catching up with someone."

"That's fine. There will be plenty of leftovers." Angela said with a cheery tone that switched rather quickly to a more concerned one. "And I hope you know that I intend to talk about what happened between you and Jane when you get home. I couldn't get anything out of her…"

"Alright. I'll head home as soon as I can."

"Okay, sweetheart. See you then!"

"Bye, Angela." Maura said with a slightly heavy heart. She wasn't sure how she was going to discuss this with the mother of the woman she vowed to never be friends with again.

"Goodbye."

With a click they were disconnected and Maura returned to the table. "I'm sorry about that. Again."

She shook her head. "Don't be. Was it important? Was there a murder?"

"No. It was just Jane's mother."

"Oh." Hope nodded. They had touched on the topic of the detective and it included Angela's current residence in the guest home. It seemed odd that Jane seemed such a big part of her life yet she seemed hesitant to say much about her. The only logical conclusion she could draw from this was that the two were in some sort of romantic relationship that Maura didn't want her to find out about. There was really only one way to tell. "So… tell me more about this Jane."

"Uh… well she – " As tears started to well up in the M.E.'s eyes at the thought of the other woman she knew she needed to get out of there. "Actually, I should go." She stood up but not without protest from the other woman.

"Wait, Maura!"

The yell didn't reach its intended target – who was already out the door. She didn't go straight home, of course, as she didn't want to face the interrogation she was sure Mama Rizzoli had in store for her.

She headed to a nearby park where she all but collapsed on a bench and tried for nearly an hour to get her thoughts settled. As exhaustion started to set in she realized that a good night's sleep – though improbable as it would probably be to achieve – might be just what she needs to figure this out. With that in mind she headed home where she saw Angela waiting for her in the living room.

"Oh, there you are, Maura!" Angela said with a smile. "Come on over here and take a seat." She patted the couch cushion next to her.

The M.E. stood there for a moment, internally debating what to do. After a few seconds she spoke. "I'm sorry, Angela. I really don't want to talk about this right now. Is it alright if I just go to bed?"

The older woman frowned but nodded. "That's fine. But if you need to talk at all during the night don't hesitate to come get me."

Tight smile in place, Maura nodded at her. "Thank you, I will if I need to." She said before leaving in the direction of her room.

Angela looked on and her frown became deeper. This had to be really serious if even Maura didn't want to talk about it, she figured. She hoped that it would resolve itself soon. If not, she would have to take matters into her own hands. Instead of following the doctor into her room like she would for any of her own children, she just went to bed herself.

The next morning Maura forwent work and drove in the opposite direction. After she pulled into a space in the hospital parking lot she made a bee-line for the one person she really wanted to talk to about this – her mother. While Angela was normally great for discussions, she was too close to the issue this time.

When she walked into the correct room she found the curtain closed but gained access quickly. Pulling a chair up to the side of the bed, she let a tear escape her eye due to the overpowering stress of everything that has happened and looked at her mother's face.

"What's wrong, Maura darling?" Constance asked, concerned.

"It's – I…. I don't know what to do."

"This is about Jane." She said, knowingly.

"Y-yes… how did you know?"

"When Jane visited a couple days ago she told me everything."

"Everything?" She questioned.

"Everything." The older woman confirmed. "That includes what happened to Patrick. I don't believe it's her fault. You're being too hard on her."

Maura's eyes narrowed. "Then she probably didn't tell you the true version of what happened. She _shot _him. And he died."

"I know. He was pointing the gun at Detective Frost… Jane thought he was going to shoot."

Maura's brows furrowed. She hadn't seen that part. During that particular moment in time she was too focused on what the female detective was doing. Nevertheless she was still upset. "That doesn't make it okay."

"Would you rather either Detective Frost or Jane to be dead?"

The M.E. clenched her teeth together for a moment, not having expected this conversation. She was starting to think she was better off talking to Angela about this. "No… but that doesn't mean she should have killed him…"

"Maura." Constance reached her hand out and placed it on said woman's arm. "Just talk to her, okay? That woman has been the best thing that's happened to you, and I'm not just saying that – I can see it. You two have something special. After all, she was the one you turned to first when this happened to me. You told me she was the only person you trusted during that time. I would hate for something like this to get in the way of what you have."

"Something like what? Murder?"

The elder Isles let out a frustrated sigh and then winced as the action had caused a sharp pain to shoot through her side. "It's not – she was protecting herself, her partner and you."

"I just – what if I can't talk to her? What if I break down or something? Or – or I don't know what to say?"

"Perhaps a couples counselor would help." She offered.

Maura's eyes widened as she nearly jumped out of her chair in surprise. "We're not – we are _not _a couple."

"I never said you were. But these people are trained to deal with problems that arise in close relationships such as the one you and Jane have."

"We don't have a close relationship… not anymore."

"I understand it's difficult for you, darling. Please do this? For me?"

She looked into the eyes of her mother who was cut up and bruised from protecting her and she couldn't say no. So she conceded and nodded defeatedly. "Alright. I'll talk to her later."

"Now. Go talk to her now."

"But… I don't even know what to say."

"And even if you think about it for a week you won't find anything to say."

Maura scrunched up her nose, knowing the other woman was right. Before leaving she placed a light kiss on her mother's cheek and bid her farewell.

During the drive to the detective's apartment, Maura's stomach was going through what she could only describe as a butterfly carving out a picture of another butterfly with a jackhammer. Her mind couldn't focus well enough to even begin thinking of what to say when she arrived but, soon enough, she parked and made her way up to the familiar building.

When she stood in front of the door she had walked through so many times before she hesitated bringing her hand up to knock. After a few minutes, though, she managed to give it a few raps.

It took the other woman longer than usual to answer it but, considering the fact that Jane thought her mother was at the door, this wasn't a complete surprise.

Maura at the front door, however, was a surprise and Jane's facial expression indicated such thoughts. "M-Maura?"

Said woman's voice was soft and almost fragile. "Can I come in?"

"Y-yeah! Of course!" She stepped back and allowed access. "Do you want anything to drink?" She asked, as if the offering of a beverage would nix any and all woes in their relationship.

"No thank you. I just came to talk." The M.E. took a seat on the couch and looked at the other woman expectantly – who then joined her. "I – I want to start out by telling you that I'm not completely sure what I should say."

"Okay. Same here."

"My mother suggested couples counseling."

Jane's response was nearly similar to the one Maura had earlier – though the detective actually stood up in her surprise. "What?"

"Sit back down." She commanded, causing the other woman to do so immediately. "I thought it was crazy at first too but, after some thought, I think it's a good idea." Words were stuck in her throat that she wanted to get out and, after a few moments, she was able to. "I miss you, Jane, even though it hasn't even been a day. Just the thought of going the rest of my life without being around you makes me nearly catatonic with depression and I can't keep going like this."

"Yeah… Me too."

"So? Can I make the appointment?"

Jane nodded. "I'm willing to do whatever you want to do in order to get our friendship back." If that meant sitting across from some guy twiddling his thumbs at them for an hour then so be it.

A few days of non-communication between the two later and they were seated across from a therapist. A female one. With not a single thumb-twiddle in sight.

Things were silent for a moment until Karen, the therapist, started them out. "So… Would you like to tell me why you're here?"

The two women seated on the couch across from the therapist looked at each other and, silently, decided Maura should go first.

"She shot my father."

Bad decision, Jane realized. "I didn't – okay, I shot him but – " She sighed. "I was just doing my job."

"Which is?" Karen interrupted for clarification.

"I'm a homicide detective."

She nodded, grateful it made sense and she wasn't stuck with a hit-man as a client. Again.

"I – She was adopted and her biological father was someone on the FBI's most wanted list. He came out of nowhere on a case completely unrelated to him and shot our suspect who was about to shoot Maura. An FBI agent then shot him and so he returned fire. I thought he was going to shoot either me or my partner next so I got to him first."

The therapist nodded. "That makes sense. So, Maura, you felt betrayed by this action?"

"Yes. Jane knows that I just recently reconnected with him and I was trying to learn about where I come from."

Karen nodded, having dealt with many adopted children in her work she knew what commonly goes through the mind of those involved.

They continued talking until the allotted fifty minutes were through. A few sessions later, things were starting to get back on track. It didn't take very long for them to start enjoying things they used to like lunch dates, yoga and, of course, work. Maura was becoming ever aware for her increased feelings towards the other woman but she had no idea if it was even possible for them to be returned. Thus, she found herself constantly pushing them back as she tried to enjoy her re-budding friendship with the detective.

One Thursday afternoon immediately after their latest session, however, they found a roadblock to their progress seated on the couch in Jane's apartment – where they frequently went after their sessions to discuss as they had a drink together.

"Casey?" The detective questioned. "What are you doing here?"

Though he smiled and stood up when he saw the woman he liked so much he couldn't help the puzzled expression at her question. "What do you mean? I sent you an email the other day saying I was coming back."

"Oh." Jane looked down sheepishly as she hadn't checked her mail in quite a while.

"But anyway, I wanted to see you!" He walked over to her and gave her a kiss. It was quicker than he wanted it to be considering the fact they weren't alone but it would do for now. "And Maura!" He smiled, turning to said woman. "How have you been?"

She scowled at him, nearly letting out a growl as she did so, and turned tail to leave.

Casey stood there, befuddled. "What was that all about?"

Though she had an idea of what that was she wasn't sure. She turned to him and smiled, albeit tightly. "Casey, it's good to see you back but I'm kind of in the middle of something really important so…"

"I completely understand." He said. "A case, right?"

In the unlikely event that she was wrong about Maura she figured she should keep her options open and not completely reject him outright. "Something like that… just – do me a favor and go home. I'll call you when I'm done with this, okay?"

He nodded. "Sure thing." Before he left he gave her a final, and much longer, kiss.

When the door shut, Jane could only collapse on the couch and put her face in her hands before mumbling. "What am I going to do?"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This looks like it's going to be the last chapter. I had a hard time finding inspiration to write this fic throughout most of it so it's not going to be continued. I hope I ended it well enough, though. Thanks for reading!

XXXXX

After nearly an hour of thinking, Jane stood up from her couch, hopeless as ever. She knew she had to do something about this mess she had inexplicably put herself in. Before heading out and putting any plan to action she decided to try one last tactic.

"Hey Joe." She said, walking over to the dog in question before kneeling down and patting her on the head. "You saw what happened, right? I heard dogs have special senses… do you have any on this?"

The only response the dog gave was to tilt her head to the side before walking over to her food bowl.

"Gee, thanks…" Jane said sardonically as she stood up and headed for the door.

The detective's mind went on autopilot as she made the ever so familiar route to Maura's house. Instead of focusing on the drive she, instead, thought of the other woman and the reaction she had to Casey's presence in her apartment. For some reason she felt that she had hurt Maura by not kicking Casey out right away. It made a bit of sense, she figured, considering the fact that amnesiac Maura was in love with her that the one she was currently chasing was as well.

When she pulled up she was off-put by the absence of Maura's car in the vicinity. She saw her mother's, however, and hoped she had some knowledge of the M.E.'s whereabouts.

She hesitated putting the spare key in the door as she really didn't want to involve her mother in something like this lest she get too 'helpful'. Nevertheless, she opened the door and walked in. Bass was the first to greet her, if you could call it that, as he snapped at her feet the moment she entered the home.

"Damn turtle." The detective grumbled, giving the reptile a death-glare.

After discovering that the older Rizzoli was not in the main residence she headed through the door leading to the guest house. She gave the door a swift knock and, a few seconds later, it was opened.

"Janey? What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too…"

"I'm not – I'm just a little surprised to see you here, that's all."

Forgoing small talk, she decided to get straight to the point. "Have you seen Maura?"

"Not since this morning. Why? Is something wrong?"

Jane just shook her head, not wanting to worry her mother with the doctor's sudden disappearance. After all, it's not like there were very many places she could be hiding. Boston wasn't _that _big, she thought cryptically. "I just needed to talk to her, that's all."

"What about? Maybe you could talk to me?" Angela offered hopefully.

"No… I should go find her." Without another word Jane went back through the house to the front where she then locked the door and headed to her car. Before she would drive anywhere else unnecessarily, she decided to try and phone Maura. Unfortunately, it went straight to voicemail. "Damn it, Maura… you're really gonna make me work for this, aren't you?" She sighed and turned her car on before driving off to the next possible location – the hospital.

This was a dead end too, she found out, when she found Constance alone and sleeping. She decided not to wake the woman, figuring Maura hadn't even been by, and continued the search.

After hours of driving, the only progress that was made was determining that the M.E. was not at the Robber, Patrick's gravestone, work, any dining establishments they frequent, the yoga studio, any stretch of land along their normal jogging path, or the factory where this whole mess started in the first place. She was starting to lose hope when she received a phone call from Frost.

"Yeah?"

"I just got this really weird call from the Stonehedge Inn. They found Maura's badge and saw her just wandering around."

Jane's brows furrowed. "That's weird… I don't even think she's been there be-" Her words stopped as something came to her. "Wait. I think I know what's going on. I'll head over there now."

"Alright. Good luck with whatever it is."

"Thanks." She hung up before plugging in the location into her phone and driving off. She figured this was the place that Maura had been in her dream and she had subconsciously made her way over there, though she was a little surprised at how far away it was. She spent the near hour thinking about Maura and Casey and it didn't take her too long to realize that she wanted to be with the M.E. no matter what and should have broken up with him when she had the chance. She didn't even want to take him as a consolation prize if the other woman rejected her.

Near the half-hour mark she decidedly picked up her phone and, after being sure she knew where she was going, scrolled through the contacts until she saw his name. She didn't even hesitate pressing down on the screen to call.

"Hey Jane!" He greeted cheerily.

"Hey… listen, we need to talk."

"Uh oh, that's never a good sentence to hear. Did I do something? Should I have come in with roses and champagne?" He joked.

"No… you didn't do anything. It's me. I – I'm in love with someone else."

There was silence on the other end for a few moments before she heard a sigh. "I was afraid that might happen… one of the many risks I take going overseas I guess."

"It's not because you left… It happened before we even started dating. I just didn't realize it."

"Oh." It dawned on him. "Maura?"

She smiled even though she was surprised. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I had a feeling. I was going to say something but… I didn't want you to leave me for her if you didn't realize it. Guess it happened anyway."

"I'm sorry, Casey. You are a great guy just – "

"Not the guy for you. I know." He interrupted. "Oh well, I guess it's good I know now so I can get back out there."

"That's the spirit!" She said half-heartedly.

Casey gave a light laugh. "So… we can still be friends, right?"

"Of course. But… let me work things out with Maura first."

"You haven't even told her yet?"

"Nope. But I'm on my way there now."

"Well… she certainly is a lucky woman."

"We haven't quite gotten there yet… she'll be lucky once she agrees to date me." A slight laugh let the man know that she was joking.

"Whatever, Rizzoli. I gotta get going… good luck."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye."

Jane hung up the phone before bringing the map back up. She sighed when she saw she still had quite a ways to go.

After many bad songs had blasted through the radio, Jane arrived. She parked, quickly went inside and went up to the woman at the front desk."I'm here about Dr. Isles. Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah. Gazebo out back." She said, handing the other woman the missing badge before pointing in the correct direction.

"Thanks." Jane said as she headed out there. It took her a few minutes to even find the darn thing but, after a bit of searching, she saw it tucked away behind some foliage.

The detective saw the one she was searching for almost immediately, leaning against the wood structure and staring out at the plethora of trees. She walked up to her slowly and, when she was a mere few feet away, she spoke softly."Maura."

Said woman jumped a bit before turning around. "Oh, hello Jane."

"Listen, I know I've screwed up more than a few times this past week and I'm sorry. I should have told Casey to leave. I know we're still in an unstable place right now and I really should try harder to make sure nothing gets in the way."

Maura shook her head. "I believe you are trying hard, though. It's not up to me whether or not you can have Casey over… I really shouldn't have a say in your love life."

"But you do… you're my best friend. You mean everything to me."

The hazel-eyed woman smiled before turning to look back out at nature. "Thanks… you mean a lot to me too."

Jane cocked her head at her but joined her, making sure to keep a respectable distance from the other woman. After a few minutes of silence, she decided to speak up. "Why'd you come here, Maura?"

"I – I don't know. I just kept driving and ended up here. I keep trying to remember why this place seems so familiar but… I can't." She took a seat on the wooden floor of the gazebo.

Jane joined her but kept her distance for now. She knew this was a very fragile juncture in her life and had to be careful about how she went about doing this. "I think it might be from your coma dream. You sure you don't remember anything from then?"

Maura looked over at the other woman. "Yes… why?"

"Well… when you woke up you were absolutely convinced that… we were married."

The M.E.'s brows furrowed for a moment before she spoke. "To whom?"

Her lips twitched slightly with a smile. "Each other."

"Oh god!" Maura buried her face in her hands. "I didn't do anything embarrassing, did I?"

Jane couldn't help but laugh. "You kissed me in front of Dean. Needless to say, we were both kinda shocked about that."

"I'm sorry, Jane. I hope I didn't cause any tension between you and him."

"I guess I didn't tell you yet. I broke up with him…"

"Because of me?"

"Yes, actually. But not like it's your fault. I just realized… I didn't want to be with him."

The doctor visibly deflated."You want to be with Casey."

"No. I broke up with him on the way here."

"You what? Why? I thought you really liked him!"

Jane shrugged. "I did but… not as much as I like you."

That took a few moments to register in Maura's mind but, as soon as it did, a slow smile spread on her face. "You – you do?"

"Yes. Though, funny thing is that I didn't realize it until you kissed me. I guess your coma wasn't all bad, right?"

Maura smiled. "I guess not because I like you too. But this doesn't mean I completely forgive you for what happened to my father… we still need to work on that."

"Yes, but at least now we actually _belong _in couples counseling." She said with a light laugh.

The M.E. placed her head on the taller woman's shoulder before speaking softly. "We're gonna be okay, right?"

Jane nodded. "I hope so. If we just give it time…"

"I know. Things are already a lot better but… I mean, I understand you were just doing your job… it's just – I always believed you could do anything and that, somehow, everything would be okay as long as you're there. I guess if that was true you would have found a way to stop him without killing him."

"Nobody's perfect, Maura. Not even me." She said with a joking smirk that she used to try and lighten the mood.

That earned a smile from the M.E. but it didn't last long, she turned and looked at Jane with a confused look. "Why does this feel so familiar?"

"The dream?"

"No… not this place. Sitting here with you like this."

The detective thought for a moment before it came to her. She shifted so that she was facing the M.E. and smiled. "Maybe it'll jog your memory if I do this." She moved her hand up to caress the other woman's cheek before brushing back some hair. Without any hesitation she leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on awaiting plump lips. "I do love you."

Maura smiled and gave her a longer kiss back. "I love you too but that didn't help my memory at all. It only gave me an odd sense of deja-vu."

Jane's face fell. "Oh… well, Dr. Cooper did say that you probably wouldn't remember what happened while you had amnesia."

Frowning as well, the M.E. placed her finger on the other woman's lips. "Can we just forget about the amnesia?"

A short snort came from Jane. "That's kinda ironic, isn't it?"

Maura giggled. "Why don't we just get out of here."

Letting her actions speak for her, the taller woman stood and offered her hand to the one still seated. She couldn't help but smile at the fact that Maura was clinging to one of her arms the whole way to the car but it faltered somewhat when they had to part in order to get in their respective vehicles.

"Where are we going?" Jane asked as she fiddled with her keys.

"Home."

"Meaning…?"

"Let's just go somewhere we can be alone."

Said woman's face went blank before she smiled, coming up with a snarky response. She pointed forward at the resort they had just left. "We can just rent one of these rooms. Then we won't need to have an hour drive."

"Okay, if you want to spend three hundred dollars for a night where we won't even leave the room…" She responded with a sensual and suggestive expression.

"Three hund – yikes. Never mind, then. I'll – uh…. let's go." She said before getting in her car.

The drive back seemed exponentially longer than it was to get there even though she was speeding the whole way. What took her an hour before only took her forty-five minutes and, soon, they were both inside the apartment.

They started out with something simple – a glass of wine and a seat on the couch. Nervous about what was to be ahead, they discussed mundane things like work and their next therapy session.

"I wonder what Karen will say when we tell her what has happened today."

Jane shrugged. "She probably already knows. She _is _a psychologist after all. Aren't those guys like psychics?"

Maura just laughed and shook her head before taking another sip from her glass. Deciding not to even comment on that, she cleared her throat and changed the subject. "So… when are you going to ravish me?" She said completely straight faced.

The detective coughed, expelling a few droplets of wine that had accidentally traveled down the larynx when she gasped slightly at the other woman's words. "W-what?"

"Come on, we're both grown women and, frankly, the sexual tension between us has been building since our first case together. It's about time, don't you think?"

"Well… I've never been able to argue with your logic."

They put their drinks down on the table and, seeing Joe sitting near them, decided the bedroom would be a better place to go.

Before Jane could even close the door behind them, Maura pressed her up against it, effectively causing it to shut.

Though the detective's eyes gave away her surprise at the M.E.'s behavior, her smile gave away her pleasure. Responding to that action, she leaned forward and captured the shorter woman's lips in a smooth and sultry kiss.

Moaning into the much appreciated action, Maura moved her hands under Jane's shirt and squeezed the sides gently before massaging the soft skin she found there.

Still lip-locked, Jane pushed forward to try and gain the upper hand. She slipped a hand behind the other woman and underneath the barrier of her designer slacks. There she firmly but lovingly gave one cheek a squeeze, causing the other woman to pull away.

Smiling, Jane removed her hand and grabbed the sides of Maura's shirt. With a smoldering gaze she lifted it up slowly. The other woman helped by lifting up her arms and, when the offending object was gone, Jane wrapped her arms around her love. Their lips met for a heated and passionate battle of the tongues as their heads moved side to side in an attempt at getting at the most advantageous angle. This lasted for quite some time until the chocolate-eyed woman pulled away from the other woman's mouth and began kissing down the side of her neck until she got to the lacy black barrier. With a swift motion she unhooked it and tossed it to the side before latching her mouth onto the beckoning nipple, causing the other woman to moan and her back to arch, creating even more pleasurable contact. Jane kept this position by using her hands to push the M.E.'s back towards her while pressing forward herself. Moments passed and she moved onto the other breast, lapping diligently at the flesh there before tenderly grazing it with her teeth.

It didn't take too long before Maura could no longer stand it and quickly removed Jane's top before dragging her into the bed. There, they slipped under the covers for a passion filled night.


End file.
